Madam, - I would like to pay tribute to Warren Buffett's magnificent gesture in donating most of his massive personal fortune to charity (The Irish Times, June 27th).
His decision to place the funds with Bill and Melinda Gates is a wise one typical of the shrewd investing of "the sage of Omaha". Together with Bill Gates's decision to step down next year from running Microsoft to concentrate on running his and his wife's charitable foundation, this signals a new era in philanthropy. One hopes it will encourage similar gestures from the world's super-rich.
It is estimated that the Gates Foundation has already saved 1.7 million lives. The projection for the next few years is 10 million saved, an incredible statistic.
Melinda Gates recently described the sight of people queuing for hours with no food in their bellies for just one pill. This is the tragic illogicality that they are trying to tackle. A lot of this will be achieved by funding drug companies which cannot currently justify to their shareholders the viability of research on drugs for people who are unable to pay for them, and by focusing supplies where they are most needed.
We complain a lot about the US, so let's just stand back for once and applaud three of its greatest citizens - Warren Buffett, Bill and Melinda Gates - for this awe-inspiring work. - Yours, etc,
ROBERT COUSINS, Dublin 18.
Madam, - The two richest men in the world are now giving away most of what they have. What a relief: the good guy in everyone still operates in the richest man's soul. Onwards and upwards! - Yours, etc,
ANTO KERINS, Hampton Court, Clontarf, Dublin 3.